Ball in general, life on the road… on this blog, either you do or you don't.

Izzy done for the year

It was revealed after the game today that Jason Isringhausen is done for the year. I’ll have a story coming soon, with comment from Dave Duncan, TLR and George Paletta. Izzy himself was not around to talk after the game.

Here are Duncan’s comments from the postgame in case you missed them:

"I know Izzy does not feel good about the way he threw in thebullpen yesterday.

"I don’t expect that Izzy is going to pitch anymore (this year). I think
it’s just determining what to do."

12 Comments

I think that’s a bit unfair, cdb. If Izzy was healthy, I’m convinced he’d still be effective. You can’t blame him for being ineffective while his body was breaking down on him.

I do think it’s fair to wonder, though, how long he and the team have known about the hip problem, or more accurately, have known it was affecting his pitching. It’s not unusual at all for players to be dinged up by September; probably more are than aren’t. But there are dings and dings. Not all of them grossly compromise a player’s performance, but this one obviously does. If this injury was recognized a month ago and he still went out and blew saves trying to pitch through it, then somebody definitely screwed up. Not pointing fingers here; I don’t have the inside information necessary to figure out who it was. But it shouldn’t be allowed to happen again.

I see that today’s game has been called off, and won’t be rescheduled unless it’s necessary for post-season purposes. Good; the guys can use a rest (since they don’t have any off days for the remainder of the season), people get hurt playing on wet and unplayable fields, and above all, we’re spared another Weaver meltdown.

I honestly don’t understand the glee at losing a player, any player, to a potentially career-ending medical condition. Izzy was a stellar performer in past seasons and it is horrifying to me the way that Cardinal Nation turned on him so viciously, especially in the face of what has turned out to be a season-ending condition. Izzy gave it his all, no matter what, and IMHO deserves better treatment from the “best fans in baseball.”

He deserves better because Cardinals fans have always prided themselves in appreciating effort. That’s the hallmark, right? That’s what every Cardinals fan says separates them from fans of other teams — that they’ll always appreciate the guys who bust their behinds, regardless of the results.

It’s why David Eckstein is a huge fan favorite. It’s why some fans haven’t taken to Encarnacion, because they perceive a lack of effort — putting aside whether that’s a fair criticism or not.

Well, this guy has done just that. He’s pitched through pain again and again and again and given it all he possibly could. Were the results good this year? No. But if the claim that has always been made is true, then Cardinals fans owe this guy better than to kick him when he’s down.

Izzy deserves better than the terrible treatment he’s gotten because Cardinal Nation calls itself the “best fans in baseball.” How can you call yourselves that when you’re glad, nay thrilled, to be losing a player who has given his all to a potentially career-ending medical condition? The answer is, you can’t. Not in good conscience anyway. It makes me sick.

I am a huge fan and privately expressed discern when Izzy was called in to save a 1-run game. BUT, I didn’t know he was hurt/injured. NOW, I feel terrible for feeling the way I did. Even then, I truly believed he was doing the very best he could; I thought he just “didn’t have it” anymore. But, I really do agree with “earuttle” (above) . . . I have never been so ashamed of St. Louis fans as when they booed so loudly one of their own Cardinals! That really hurt! Shame on us all.

Simple fact of life: YOU DON’T REWARD “EFFORT.” ONLY “RESULTS” MATTER. Isrighausen, regardless of what he did in the past has been a millstone around the necks of the Cardinals this year. They would have clinched 10 days ago if he had even been “marginal.”

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.